Alysa Cantor received an MA from Lesley University in expressive arts therapy and mental health counseling, and this background continues to shape how she approaches making. She values art as a process of connection, healing, and transformation, and is drawn to practices that reward presence and play. Much of Alysa’s work is informed by attentive, embodied ways of moving through this world — exploring new areas of the forest, observing seasonal changes, and lingering with small, often overlooked details.

Alysa works across media, particularly clay, cyanotype and encaustic, to explore the relationships between nature, material, and chance. Unpredictability, variation, and subtle shifts are not problems to resolve but collaborators in the finished work. Her work has been shown in regional galleries, festivals, and residencies, and she has served in leadership and advocacy roles within the arts community. She spends time in both the Triangle and in Boone, now working out of Liberty Arts studios in Durham.